Harvest in Amberleigh

Dear Friends,

Harvest is upon us and as we all work towards putting things by, let us gather at our church, St. Hildegard, and have a harvest celebration of thanks. I would ask you to bring from your kitchen gardens to decorate the church at this time of abundance. These gifts will be distributed to the less fortunate in the parish so please let us be generous. Those of you who make corn dollies are invited to bring them as a symbol of our ample harvest. Upon coming to this parish, it has been my pleasure to be acquainted with you all and our beloved church. I have written a short history of St. Hildegard and invite you to our communal blog to read it.

  Rev. S. Thomas

Dear Ladies,

So many harvest traditions hearken back to much earlier times. Decorating the church with the bounties of one’s garden and making corn dollies were just two ways the harvest season was marked. The corn dollies (to clarify the reference to corn in England equates to grain in North America) were made from the last of the wheat to be harvested. It was thought that the spirit of the harvest was retained in that last clump of wheat and so it was preserved in the form of corn dollies which were saved and sown into the grown at the next growing season to give back the spirit to the land. Corn dollies have many different looks, from braided circles to ornately twisted dolls, each a small work of art. For this swap we will have one partner. Find a picture of a corn dollie, make a postcard (3 x 5 or 4 x 6) and on the postcard write to your partner, in your character’s voice what you have brought to he church from your garden. Because this postcard will go into our journals, please send it in an envelope so that it does not get damaged in the post.

With all good wishes,

L. Elizabeth